Misfit Menagerie: Homestead and Apiary

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Misfit Menagerie: Homestead and Apiary I grow nearly all the plants I sell from seed, cuttings & divisions of my own plants.

Open daily 9:30am - dark

Farmstand offers plants, eggs, produce, honey & beeswax, herbal salves, beeswax wraps, freeze dried candy, baked goods & more!

💚Truly local!

It's time! Did you even know that English muffins are cooked on a stove, not baked? Maybe everyone else knows this, but...
10/24/2026

It's time!

Did you even know that English muffins are cooked on a stove, not baked? Maybe everyone else knows this, but until I made them, I never even thought about it.

So I started these yesterday morning. But all that entailed was mixing the ingredients together. That's it. 5 minutes. This morning I added a few more ingredients, did a little kneading, rolled them out and cut them. Maybe 15 minutes.

And now I'm cooking them. Had I thought to use the Blackstone, I'd have been done in ten minutes (and they wouldn't be so dark because I can actually control the temp on that, unlike this stupid stove 🙄). But I didn't and only 3 at a time fit on my skillet. So this will take about 30 minutes. Still, well under an hour of total active time. That's the thing with sourdough - it sounds like it takes forever. And it does. But it does it while I'm out in the garden, or running errands, sleeping, etc. It really doesn't take much actual time.

I have 8 delicious English muffins (could do 10-12 if you cut them smaller, I like them jumbo because we use them for sandwiches) without any questionable ingredients. I'll post the recipe I use in the comments.

The things I do for you guys... 🤣🤣🤣These should make for some nice "stinging nettle starter kits" in the spring. Yes, s...
10/23/2026

The things I do for you guys... 🤣🤣🤣

These should make for some nice "stinging nettle starter kits" in the spring.

Yes, some of us are crazy enough to buy/plant this stuff. I did when I lived in town! I LOVE eating young stinging nettle in the spring - and it's so nutritious! I always try to dehydrate some to add to bread and pasta throughout the year and also freeze some nettle pesto for sauces.

And if you don't have the time or desire to go out in the woods and find it, growing a patch at home makes a lot of sense.

I sold 5 or 6 of these this spring, which was all I had potted up. So I'm doing a dozen this for spring and we'll see how it goes. I can pot more up through mid spring, but they're harder to handle with fresh new growth.

If you want to establish a larger patch, I do have some available to be dug up. Super easy access and easy digging. It's doing a little too well in my goat yard, since they don't generally eat it, so I'd like to thin it out a little more. Just message me to arrange a time - it'll be super cheap compared to potted plants and I'm absolutely willing to barter (for stuff or even for weeding) as well.

Here's my sourdough English muffins this morning. We'll let them rise for a few hours. The recipe says 45 minutes, but ...
10/23/2026

Here's my sourdough English muffins this morning. We'll let them rise for a few hours. The recipe says 45 minutes, but I've never had them go that fast - you have to remember that 67° isn't "room temperature" in a lot of the country. Even a few degrees makes a huge difference. When my starter was struggling one winter, I put it in a warmer spot that was about 72° instead of 67°. It perked up so fast!

When I use my proofer, I put it at 80° and I can make bread in about 8 hours, even in winter. Without it, I can start a loaf early afternoon and bake it the next morning. You can slow it down further by putting your dough in the fridge for a day (or three). The longer it takes the more sourdough tang you get - generally. Once you learn how your starter behaves, in your kitchen, with the flours you use, you can really make it fit into your schedule pretty easily.

I'll post results later.

Went grocery shopping today. I understand math isn't everyone's strong suit... but this made me chuckle. Sorry Grocery ...
10/22/2026

Went grocery shopping today. I understand math isn't everyone's strong suit... but this made me chuckle.

Sorry Grocery Outlet... I love you... But this isn't the flex you think it is. 🤣🤣🤣

That said, I've never seen a 74c mango anywhere, so I grabbed one anyway lol

Let's talk sourdough. It's not as hard as the Internet makes it sound. But it's also harder. Making actual sourdough bre...
10/22/2026

Let's talk sourdough.

It's not as hard as the Internet makes it sound. But it's also harder.

Making actual sourdough bread is an art form - you really can't just follow a recipe from start to finish like you can with regular baking. Time, starter health, flour type/quality and the temperature of your kitchen all pay a HUGE ROLE. What takes 6 hours in your kitchen might take 10 hours in mine. You MUST learn to read your dough.

That's the hard part.

But the EASY part is making all the things that AREN'T BREAD. Tortillas and pasta are staples in our house and I make them frequently. I use my starter to thicken gravy and stew. I use it for battering chicken and fish. And it's phenomenal in sweet treats like cookies and brownies. Adds an incredible depth of flavor.

And this - this "dirty jar" - is really all you need to keep it going.

My kitchen is about 65-67° most of the time and my starter lives on my counter. When my starter is healthy, I feed it once or twice a week, or any time I use it. In the summer, when it's warmer and I bake less, I feed it and let it start to rise, then put it in the fridge where I forget about it for a few weeks. It's fine. But this time of year, once every 4-7 days has always been fine. However, I'm feeding it a high quality whole wheat flour - I use Cairnspring Mills because it's local, but Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur are good ones too. With weaker flour, you'd need to feed it much more often.

Anyway - today I'm making English muffins. Probably won't cook them off until morning, but it depends on how they look tonight. I'll update as I go.

10/21/2026

We have a new favorite nest box!!!

I've gotten 3-5 eggs a day for the past several days. There's like 45 hens here. That math ain't mathin'. So I'm glad to see this today, on top of the other 5 or so I've gotten today. If I can get a dozen a day, that at least pays their feed bill.

Extra special seasonal goodies are waiting for you at the farmstand! I just restocked the freeze dried toasted marshmall...
10/21/2026

Extra special seasonal goodies are waiting for you at the farmstand!

I just restocked the freeze dried toasted marshmallows AND I put all the freeze dried saltwater taffy up there too. The taffy usually travels around with me so isn't often available at the stand. But for the rest of October, it'll be up there!! And don't forget to grab some Halloween candy for your favorite trick or treaters.

We've also still got some festive candles, created with pure local beeswax from Bruce Bowen Bees, plus of course we always stock his local honey too.

There's also a nice selection of delicious treats from Mama's Oven!

Open daily, all year long, from 9:30 am until dark.

6672 SR9, Sedro Woolley - about 2 miles north of town.

I potted up a few Egyptian Walking Onions last week that are now at the farmstand. There's 4 pots at $5 each and that's ...
10/20/2026

I potted up a few Egyptian Walking Onions last week that are now at the farmstand. There's 4 pots at $5 each and that's probably it until spring.

Also added a few pots of fringecup (native shade plant) and a cute little baby fern. Of course there's a bunch of other plants up there too.

Oh, and there's some eggs!! They've been in short supply lately, so get em while you can!

Trying to find fun ways to make those indoor birthday parties a little more special? Consider adding freeze dried candy...
10/20/2026

Trying to find fun ways to make those indoor birthday parties a little more special? Consider adding freeze dried candy as party favors!

By order only, I can do mini bags of original, wild berry, or sour $kittles (mix & match ok). I could probably make Hi€hew work in these bags too, for a dye free option. These are a little tedious to package, so I do have a 10 bag minimum at $2/bag.

It's a great way to give a little something special without getting them totally amped up on sugar since they're mini bags, so about a third of my regular sized bags - perfect for the kiddos. (mini sucker for scale)

10/20/2026

"You can't have roosters in town because they're too noisy"

Ma'am, you are not a rooster. 😳

These Wellie girls sure are making a big deal out of these first few eggs. And they're just tiny little pullet eggs. 🤷🤣

Address

6672 State Route 9
Sedro-Woolley, WA
98284

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